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1941 Ford Pickup Called Gold Standard Great 8 Pick

A 1941 Ford Pickup called Gold Standard was selected to the Great 8 during Friday’s session of the 2017 Detroit Autorama here in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Anxious owner, Ed Sears of Annapolis, Maryland waited Friday morning when his classic custom pickup was chosen to compete for the legendary Ridler Award. Each of the top eight cars selected to the Great 8 will be a contender to win the vaunted Ridler Award here on Sunday evening.

“The Gold Standard,” Sears’ nickname for his 1941 Ford Pickup, will be a contender for the 2017 Ridler Award as much for its aesthetics as it will be for its great build. It has a Flathead with a detailed Ford 8BA block updated with today’s high performance technology and three Stromberg 97 carburetors. It is bored and stroked, has a Winfield Performance cam and Navarro aluminum heads and manifold. It is ported, polished and relieved, and comes with a serpentine belt system. Quite an impressive engine.

Interestingly, the 1941 Ford Pickup called Gold Standard was built with an electrically operated hood, electric seats and electrical bed cover.